We were all greeted to a reveal of Jam due to the formal announcement of Guilty Gear Strive 2.0. As the release date of April 9th, 2026 inches closer and closer, we are being satiated by some gameplay of our newest Daredevil!
Watch it below and get my impressions!
\ IMPRESSIONS \
When first starting off, the first thing that I actually take notice of is the HUD. Guilty Gear Strive‘s 2.0 HUD features a new aesthetic around the lifebars; there was not a any traces of blue nor the chains present, not to mention the small outline similar to what Asuka has. I think it looks good and adds more flare without being too over-the-top. The graphics aren’t the timer has also changed, but just slightly. Also, when you defeat someone via chip damage, it actually says so at rounds’ end. There also seemed to be a little push-back and burst on Faultless Defense is you perfect block it.
The gameplay for Jam indicates that she retains her identity as a rush down heavy character with some slight mix-up traits thrown in. Like Venom, she seems very faithful to her previous identity and seems more-or-less “Strive-ified” rather than having a complete rework like we seen for Dizzy, Ramlethal, Testament, etc. Those who loved her gameplay in previous iterations will no doubt feel at home…but it remains to be seen whether-or-not she’s good (as we clearly seen from how Venom panned out).
If you look down at Jam’s unique mechanic, she still seems to build varying power-ups dependent upon what she chooses, but the gameplay reveals differences from her previous iterations. Since GGST is such a fast paced game and big damage is not uncommon, you do not seem to build stacks and are relegated to only one of each. This makes sense as you do not need as many touches in interactions to kill a character, thus multiple power-ups seem unnecessary. One powers up her flying kick, one powers up her overhead, and I am assuming one powers up her fist attack which creates a blue sphere (though this one was never used). However, the same power-up which was spent on her enhanced overhead also caused her low to turn into blue flame and be enhanced. This means that you have multiple applications per enhancement. You are able to tell which power-up she summoned due to its color (blue, green, and red). Also, one of her Overdrives (which also wall breaks) gives her a power-up in each slot.
As far as aesthetic, it’s interesting that she takes her rabbit into battle with her; although, it feels more like an unwilling participant more-so than a ready-to-be battle companion. I find it odd that Guilty Gear -Strive- does not use animals to their full effect. Testament uses their crow actively, while Giovanna only utilizes her wolf within a single Overdrive. More so than that, you look at Bridget and she actively uses her teddy bear, Roger, during a multitude of attacks and both Overdrives. I will say a consolation is that Jam has what is probably the LONGEST win animation within the entire game by arguing with her little usagi.
Overall, Jam is looking rather promising, but only time will tell whether-or-not she proves to be a tournament worthy character, let alone someone to enjoy both fighting against and playing. I think they’re on a good roll so far. Can’t wait to dive into the game and see what the patch notes look like on April 9th!
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading...Tags: Guilty Gear, Guilty Gear -STRIVE-
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